IMPACT OF CAPITATION TRANSFERS ON SCHOOL PERFORMANCE IN KENYA: A CASE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NORTH HORR SUB – COUNTY
IMPACT OF CAPITATION TRANSFERS ON SCHOOL PERFORMANCE IN KENYA: A CASE OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NORTH HORR SUB – COUNTY
Umuro Wario - Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Prof. J.O Aduda - Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya
ABSTRACT
In developing countries, access to education has increased considerably over the last 20 years, with many more children, particularly underprivileged children, entering school earlier and staying in school longer than ever before. This is been attributed by among others the governments support through capitation transfers. Capitation grant is a basic educational finance strategy that is utilized in many countries to provide financial resources to public institutions. The objective of the study was to determine the impact of capitation transfers on the performance of primary schools in North Horr Sub-county. The predictor variables in the study were the reliability, timeliness and the adequacy of the cash transfers. On the other hand, the control variables were teacher competency and the school size as measured by the learners’ population. The results suggest that the timeliness of the cash transfer to schools was also not on time since on average, the cumulative number of days that the government delayed in disbursing cash over the year was 87 days though the delayed period in the three terms in an academic calendar was constant in between the terms. Further, the amount disbursed over the period was not meeting the stipulated policy since only around 92.4% of the expected amount in a given year was achieved. The inferential results show that the performance of the primary schools is affected by the variables under investigation to an extent of 12.5%. This finding suggests that other factors that determine school performance explain 87.5% of the variable. The study concludes that there is evidence from the fact that as the timeliness, adequacy and the reliability of the funds declined in the period, so did the performance. In addition, the study concludes that matching the school resources to the increase in student enrolment has a direct impact on the performance of the primary schools. Hence the study recommends that capitation grant disbursement pattern be reviewed with a view to determining whether the existing arrangement is conducive to improving education outcomes in Kenya. The study further recommends that a comparison study be undertaken to assess primary schools’ performance in urban areas and those considered as hardship regions with a view to establishing the influence of capitation transfers.
